Day 2: First Date / Kiss

After Jeff had finished discussing Jamie's schoolwork, based on notes prepared by his subject teachers, he asked, "So, do you have any other questions for me?"

Yeah, are you single? What's your number? "Er, no, I think that about covers it. Thank you for your time." He stood up and shook Jeff's hand. "You can call me Nick, by the way."

Jeff smiled. "You're welcome, Nick. Uh, sorry..." He blushed as he realised he was still holding onto Nick's hand.

This didn't go unnoticed by Nick. "Uh, I don't normally do this, but I was wondering if you'd like to go out for dinner some time? Unless you have a boyfriend...or you can't date parents..." Please say something to stop me babbling!

Jeff looked surprised but smiled. "Well, I'm single and as for dating parents, I'm only Jamie's form tutor so it's not like you can ask me to grade him higher in anything. I suppose I should let the headmaster know, though."

"So, is that a yes?" Nick asked, not sure whether it was or not.

Jeff nodded, smiling shyly. "Yes, it's a yes."

Nick gave himself one last check over in the mirror. Just as he turned to the side to look at himself from a different angle, trying a different facial expression, he heard a burst of giggles from his bedroom doorway. Nick blushed and snapped his head in that direction, waiting for the laughter that was sure to follow.

"Well, let me know when you actually go on a date, maybe then you can comment!" He sassed at Jamie, who now had tears running down his cheeks from suppressed mirth.

"Okay, Dad, I'll put that one down to nerves, but just so you know, Mr Sterling wasn't doing any better at the end of class today, either." He reeled him in with this juicy bit of information, before promptly disappearing back downstairs.

Nick was about to yell down the stairs to plead for more information, when it hit him like a lead weight.

Dad.

He called me Dad!

What if he didn't mean it? Stop over thinking and go and talk to him!

Nick flew down the stairs looking for Jamie, finding him sat on the couch, looking a little uncomfortable. He took a seat next to him and bumped shoulders softly, urging him to talk.

"I called you Dad, didn't I?"

Nick nodded. "Yep. I noticed." He waited.

"Do you mind?" Came the mumbled question.

Nick put his arm around Jamie and squeezed. "Mind? Not at all. Is that how you see me now?"

Jamie nodded once. "I noticed I was doing it in my head a lot. I don't ever want to see...him...again, but if I was going to get a replacement Dad I'd like it to be you."

"In that case I'd be honoured. I couldn't dream of having a better son than you. But if it feels weird calling me that, I totally understand, okay? No pressure at all. I want to adopt you as my son for the rest of my life, no matter what you want to call me, okay?"

Jamie nodded and smiled softly. "Thanks Dad."

Once Jamie and Mrs Hardcastle, the childminder, were choosing which DVD to watch and selecting dishes from the few takeaway menus they had, Nick said goodbye and drove to Jeff's apartment to pick him up.

He knocked nervously on the door, hoping he'd got the address right. The door opened and Nick sucked in a breath. "Hi! You look really nice."

Jeff smiled. "Thanks, uh, you too. Just let me grab my jacket, then I'm ready." He ducked back inside, returning with a black leather jacket over the top of his blue t-shirt and jeans.

Nick opened the car door for him, before running round to the driver's side. "Is Italian okay with you?" He asked as he pulled away.

"Yes, that sounds good!" Jeff replied. "So, you said you and Jamie moved here. Where did you come from?"

Nick took a right turn before answering. "I grew up in Westerville, so not far really. But far enough when you don't know the area that well. I got a job offer at a law firm in Lima with good prospects for becoming a partner, so I took it. It pays better than the previous position I had and it allowed Jamie and I to have a fresh start, away from people who knew his family."

Jeff nodded. "Wait, when I was at McKinley, my friend Kurt and I were in glee club. We competed against an all boys acappella group. I'm pretty sure they were from Westerville - named after a bird?"

"The Warblers! I was in that group! How come I don't remember you? Wait a minute - Kurt? My old roommate Blaine was our lead singer and he married a guy called Kurt who went to McKinley. Don't tell me that was your friend?"

The two men stared at each other in complete disbelief. "Yes!" Jeff shouted. "I was Kurt's best man at their wedding!"

"No way! What a small world. Hold on a minute, let's go back a bit, so why don't I remember you from Sectionals?" Nick looked puzzled as he drove, turning into the restaurant parking lot.

Jeff looked suddenly serious. "I, uh, couldn't compete. I had a broken leg...from a bad dumpster dive." He looked out of the side window, wincing at the memory which was still painful.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to pry. I'm just disappointed we didn't meet earlier." He admitted, earning a flattered smile from Jeff.

"That's okay. But then, why didn't we meet at the wedding? I was kinda front and centre, hard to miss and all." He preened his fringe cheekily.

Now it was Nick's turn to grow quiet. "I was supposed to be Blaine's best man, but the day before the ceremony, my father collapsed at work. I was in the ER most of the night, so Kurt and Blaine wouldn't hear of me coming to the wedding instead of being with him."

"Now it's my turn to be sorry for prying." Jeff said as Nick switched off the engine.

"No, it's fine. As it turns out I'm more bothered I missed my dear friend's wedding, since my apparently homophobic father is still alive and ungrateful enough to not care what I did for him, the only important thing in his mind is that I'm a fag who wanted to foster the "girly boy" from next door." He rolled his eyes.

"Well good riddance then." Jeff surprised both himself and Nick by placing his hand over Nick's and squeezing it, before letting go to get out of the car.

The time in the restaurant seemed to fly by, the two men discussing likes, dislikes, school, college, career choices, love life since school and family. They discovered both had had two pretty serious relationships since their teenage years, but neither had found "the one" yet.

Jeff's parents had split up while he was a very young child and he only kept in touch with his mother, who was completely accepting of his lifestyle. She worked as a nurse at Lima General Hospital.

As they gazed at each other over their empty dessert plates, both men wondered how they could feel so comfortable with another person, so soon.

This feeling only intensified as Nick stood outside Jeff's apartment after driving him home, his lips softly meeting Jeff's as if it was the only possible conclusion to this wonderful evening.